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William Faulkner

N

nomadicfollower

New Member
What's a good place to start with Faulkner? A friend of mine gave me:

The Sound and Fury
Absalom! Absalom!
As I Lie Dying
Sanctuary
The Hamlet


What is a good place to start with these books? Also is the easiest book to read?
 
Sound and Fury

I just read Sound and Fury. If you start there, don't be discouraged by the first "chapter" (Benji's section). Very hard to get through, but once you do, the rest of the book will piece it together. I just finished it and LOVED it!

If I were you, I'd start with Light in August or Sanctuary. More straightforward but beautiful. Not saying your not up to S and F, it just might be a big jump if you've never read Faulkner.
 
I'm doing a Faulkner seminar this semester, and just finished S&F myself. I'd forgotten how amazing that book is...Caddy just breaks your heart.
If I were to recommend a place to start w/ Faulkner, I'd agree that Light in August or maybe his collected short stories are good jumping-off points.
 
Which is your favorite William Faulkner novel and why?

Soldiers' Pay (1926)
Mosquitoes (1927)
Sartoris (Flags in the Dust) (1929)
The Sound and the Fury (1929)
As I Lay Dying (1930)
Sanctuary (1931)
Light in August (1932)
Pylon (1935)
Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
The Unvanquished (1938)
If I Forget Thee Jerusalem (The Wild Palms/Old Man) (1939)
Go Down, Moses (1942)
Intruder in the Dust (1948)
Requiem for a Nun (1951)
A Fable (1954)
The Reivers (1962)
Flags in the Dust (1973)
 
My favorite Faulkner so far is one called The Town or The Village, can't remember exactly. It's the first book to introduce the Snopes family and the whole map of Yoknapatawpha County is on the inside cover. I've read As I Lay Dying and Absalom, Absalom but it's been so long I can't answer your question. My favorite Faulkner, all inclusive, has to be a short story called Spotted Horses. The reason is because there's quite a bit of good humor in that story when the women try to undermine their husbands' horse trading. There may be some Snopeses (is that right?)in that story, and the dialogue is true. Which is your favorite, AB?
 
i read Sound and Fury for AP English. the whole class loathed it. i actually liked it. not so much while reading some parts, but i really liked Benji's point of view. i felt that he captured the different personalities really well.

Quentin's section drove me crazy though. the book would've been better with more distinctive seperation of time, IMO
 
Wow. I just started As I Lay Dying and I've never read anything like it before. I still can't decide whether or not I like it, seeing as I've barely read any, but it certainly is very different.
 
Well, I just finished As I Lay Dying, and...wow. Just wow. Tell me, is it possible to jump through the pages of a book and beat a character upside the head? Because if it isn't, it should be...that Anse has it coming to him...

Other than that, it was a very good book. Very interesting, very different. My first true experience with stream of conciousness. I'll read Faulkner again one day, but right now I'll take a break from him.

My teacher also had us read the short stories Barn Burning and A Rose for Emily. I liked Barn Burning, but I wasn't so crazy about Emily.
 
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